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Saturday 27 October 2012

Day #53 Unexpected Life Lessons

I maintain you must always focus on the silver lining, as life is about solutions, not problems.  Keeping your mind open and looking for the upside, you will always win.  Today I wanted to talk about something very positive to come out of my recovery, a life lesson if you will.

The last few years of my life have been played at breakneck speed, always doing things, working late, partying hard, women, booze, sports, travel, there has barely been a spare moment... and I loved it.  That said, it is possible to fall in love with bad habits, and this process has certainly taught me a lot about slowing down and even reconnecting with my parents.

1.) Slowing down
My work alone (advertising agency) is extremely stressful, coordinating our largest accounts, our staff and our company operational strategy.  By the end of a work day I am absolutely exhausted, and traditionally I would then push myself to go play sport, followed by meeting friends for drink or maybe a late date.

I've never been good at slowing down, the only time I really relaxed was overseas and even then I am accustomed to doing everything.  What I've leaned through this process is how to cut out distractions, focus inwardly and listen to my body.  In time gone past I could never take a midday nap, now I can do it with my eyes closed (deliberate joke).

2.) Reconnecting with my parents
This is a funny one, because I have the world's best parents and we've always had a brilliant relationship.  Being in recovery mode, I've been forced to take a back seat, allow them to look after me and be thankful for their support.  In time gone past I've been so independant I've actively pushed them off, but now I find myself truly appreciative of their support.

Sitting back and allowing people to help, makes you appreciate them and their issues.  I feel guilty for all the times I've come over for dinner and spent the whole time talking about myself.  Over the past month I've learned so much about their lives, thoughts and inner workings.  I feel closer to them than ever before, and comforted by their mere presence.

I guess the meaning of this post is to encourage you to look at the upside, appreciate what you have in life, and look forward to the future.  If you are positive, it's really not that bad, in fact, in a lot of ways it's very good.

3 comments:

  1. As always you are very positive and your comments help to put things into persepective. I am at the same stage in withdrawal as you, give or take a few days. I'm also a bloke - 30 years old, based in the UK. Previously super active, into surfing, training - always on the go. I'm very impressed at how you seem to remain so upbeat throughout this. Like you I thought I had leaky gut or candida for nearly a year whilst I still used the steroid cream on and off. I tried all sorts of diet and have found that a really basic diet of brown rice and green veg to minimise red flares. I have started to experiment with raw fruit as a friend of mine assures me that it starts to get lymph flowing and helps to alkanise the body, drawing toxins out of the cells. I was wondering if you are experimenting with diet and if you think there's anything in this. Thanks for keeping things so positive and for posting the videos. Cheers
    Alex

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  2. Hey Alex,

    I do believe diet is important, and not just for for those going through withdrawal. The research I've done has shown some alarming statistics, including very high percentage of people who are sensitive to gluten and dairy.

    Since changing my diet (including cutting out sugar), my energy levels are higher, I have less rashes and my bowel movement is consistent and healthy. So based merely on my experience I can highly recommend focusing on diet.

    I work on lots of fresh fruit & vegetable, fish (particularly salmon), chicken, rice & eggs. I've also invested heavily in gluten free, dairy free and sugar alternative products. Once you own these you can make just about anything.

    Sure it's a pain in the ass, and you look at other people who do just fine on the traditional diet, but I do believe it's worth it. Just as an experiment the last couple of weeks I have let myself have some chocolates and other cheats, this resulted in a decline in my bowel stability and perhaps a little more itching than normal.

    So in conclusion Alex, I'm absolutely convinced that eating a healthy diet of fresh, natural foods is the best possible thing you can do for yourself.

    Also, be sure to take on lots and lots of vitamin C with bioflavinoids.

    All the best, stay in touch.

    Josh

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  3. Josh
    I really identified with and enjoyed this particular post. It is always encouraging to read your entries as you are always trying to be positive. Thank you.

    Keep on trucking. I'm about to hit 6 months TWFree on the 8th. It's a roller coaster ride.

    HP
    www.eczemancipated.com

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